Bishkek: Iran had to dig deep to overcome Kyrgyz Republic 3-2 in their AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 Group A clash on Tuesday to move closer to a place in the FIFA World Cup 26 Finals.

Leading 2-0 at the break, Iran had to withstand a Kyrgyz Republic fightback in the second half before Sardar Azmoun struck the winner to take them to 16 points as they stayed three clear at the top.

Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei opted for Hossein Kanani to partner Ali Nemati in the heart of defence in place of the suspended Shojae Khalilzadeh as his side made a confident start to the game.

They took the lead after only 12 minutes, Saied Ezatolahi’s header from a corner kick was saved by Erzhan Tokotaev, only for the rebound to fall kindly for Mehdi Taremi to slam home.

Kyrgyz Republic did have a sustained period of possession after that but without much threat with Joel Kojo being tightly marked by the Iranian defense.

The visitors turned a defensive situation to their advantage in the 33rd minute when they broke after a Kyrgyz Republic corner kick with Azmoun releasing Saleh Hardani, with the experienced defender coolly slotting home past Tokotaev.

Kyrgyz Republic head coach Maksim Lisitsyn rang in the changes for the second half with Beknaz Almazbekov and Erbol Atabaev replacing Gulzhigit Alykulov and Kai Merk respectively, a tactic that paid quick dividends.

Almazbekov’s cross cum shot in the 50th minute had Alireza Beiranvand tracking back to tip over and from the ensuing corner kick, the home side pulled a goal back through Kojo’s header.

Lifted by the goal, Kyrgyz Republic poured men forward and drew level in the  64th minute when Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov was fouled in the box with Kojo stepping up to send his penalty past Beiranvand.

Seeing his side being put under intense pressure, Ghalenoei responded with Roozbeh Cheshmi, Mohammad Ghorbani, Mehdi Ghayedi and Omid Norafkan coming on for Ezatolahi, Seyed Karimi, Ali Gholizadeh and Hardani.

The moment of quality Iran were seeking finally came in the 76th minute from a Milad Mohammadi cross that was met with a thumping header by Azmoun to secure Iran’s fifth win. 

Iran will meet the United Arab Emirates when the AFC Asian Qualifiers resume in March with Kyrgyz Republic to take on Uzbekistan